Water Fountain
Cheryl, GA, USA
January 2004
Back in the summer of 2003, my mother bought this beautiful tabletop water fountain. The basin of it is about as big around as a large mixing bowl. Inside the basin there is a bench on which sits two young lovers in front of a replica of an old fashioned gazebo. All around the top of the basin are small red roses which squirt water out through their centers onto the two lovers as they eternally delight in each other's company. Beside them sits a small birdbath, water flowing over it's shallow sides. The fountain isn't old, just old fashioned looking. There has never been any indication of ghostly activity around the fountain, until today, (January 6, 2004), that is...
My mother has this little white toy poodle named Noel. She's had her about five years and, in all those five years, she nor anyone else has ever heard Noel howl. Today however, was different, for as Mom sat in the den watching her usual shows, and as the grandfather clock in the living room began to strike noon, Noel began to howl chillingly. Startled, Mom wondered what in the world was wrong. Was Noel howling at the clock as it struck the hour? She'd never done it before. Why would she do it now? Puzzled and a little bit uneasy, Mom got up and went into the living room to check on the dog which continued to howl. When she reached the living room, she found Noel facing a window, in front of which sat the fountain, in the upper part of the living room. Thinking something or someone must be outside the window causing Noel to act so strangely, Mom at first didn't notice the fountain.
Seeing nothing that could've caused Noel's behavior, Mom started to turn around and go back to watching television. By this time, the clock was done chiming the hour though Noel continued to howl. It was then that another sound entered into her hearing. It was the sound of water. Chills running up and down her spine, she looked down at the fountain which was full of water and running, it's tiny roses spraying water up onto the young lovers on the bench inside. 'How in the world could the fountain be running?' she wondered. 'It hadn't been plugged in since New Years Day when she'd unplugged it just before going to bed that night.' As more chills coursed down her spine, she reached down and unplugged the fountain. Noel's howling came to an abrupt halt and she scampered into the den as if nothing had happened.
Shaking off her uneasiness, though still puzzled over the event, Mom went on back into the den where Noel lay curled up asleep in her little bed.
Footnote: I don't know if the fountain itself was the cause of Noel's strange behavior, or if it was whatever had plugged the fountain in which had caused it. I do know this, The fountain does not have an on/off switch. You have to manually plug it in for it to run. Also, It was in the first couple of weeks of January, 1991 that my Dad passed away. Who knows, maybe it was He who'd plugged in the fountain just to let my Mom know that he was still around. Sweet Dreams......!